Queen St: Auckland Council ruffles feathers with last-minute changes to upgrade

Monday, 17 May 2021

Auckland Council has ruffled feathers with last-minute possible changes to the upgrade of downtown Queen Street which is already being contested at the High Court.

Having succeeded in staving off an interim injunction from a business group called Save Queen Street, the council launched a 48-hour online consultation seeking views on ideas it had opposed in court.

The council is trialling making the lower section of Queen Street more pedestrian-friendly with wider footpaths, a small park on one intersection, and more restricted general traffic flow.

Among the latest changes proposed to the six-week upgrade which began on May 10, are creating indented bus stops to take buses out of traffic lanes, requiring them to wait for a break in traffic when continuing.

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An artist’s impression of the proposed upgrade of Auckland's Queen St between Shortland and Customs streets.

The City Centre Residents’ group said it was “blindsided” by the 48-hour consultation and was angry the council may not pilot the designs worked on in a year of earlier consultation.

“No-one knows anything about the changes, there's been no discussion with anyone, not even elected members,” said the group’s chairwoman Noelene Buckland.

The case for indented bus stops was put forward in court by Save Queen Street, who said it would avert buses holding up the single lane of general traffic when dropping off and picking up passengers.

The planned Queen Street upgrade will remove some temporary lane dividers on the main retail strip

The council had told the court the purpose of the trial changes between Shortland and Customs streets was test whether they worked, and if they didn’t, they would not become permanent.

Buckland said the long-evolving plans for a better Queen St had always been to test how it would manage eventually with light rail running down the centre, and indenting bus stops undermined that idea.

“The whole of the refresh of the City Centre Master Plan was predicated on centre-running light rail,” said Buckland.

“We support the completion of the [previously-consulted] pilot – we are not saying we agree with everything proposed, but let’s see and learn,” she said.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff (third from left) with Transport Minister Michael Wood, to his left, at the opening of the new public square Te Komititanga at the bottom of Queen Street.

Central Auckland-based Labour list MP Helen White has weighed in, urging Auckland Council not to “backpedal” on its original design for the trial.

“The new [consultation] survey proposes allowing more traffic by reducing pedestrian spaces and allowing more parking and loading zones on Queen Street to placate critics of the City Centre Master Plan pilot,” said White.

“Auckland needs to follow the leads of cities that have put people first and become a more walkable city,” she said.

Auckland Council said work continued on the sections of the upgrade that will not be subject to the possible change involving the indented bus lanes.

Save Queen Street is still pursuing a judicial review of whether decision-making by the council and Auckland Transport was lawful, after failing to gain an immediate halt to the trial.

No date has yet been set for the case to be heard by the court.

Stuff sought comment from Mayor Phil Goff who had earlier said Save Queen Street would not have a disproportionate say in the design, with 76 per cent public support for the aim of the project.

A spokesperson for the mayor was not aware of whether Goff knew of the design tweaks floated by the council, or whether he favoured them.